As the light around them slowly dwindled away, all residents of the Marin Outpost were returning to their sleeping quarters in preparation for the next day. The few who still remained outside stood gathered around in a field of dirt or posted at the top of the outpost walls, carrying out their mandatory watch post.

"Hello newcomers, as some of you have probably already noticed, your training will be starting early tomorrow at the crack of dawn, so be careful to wake up on time. Secondly, we will be breaking up into groups later in the day in order to conduct training at a more thorough pace between all three instructors." Vailecks began his explanation.

With all the newbies gathered Damian took a moment to look around at the others who he had seen on the train. With the group consisting of a majority of guys a little older than him and a few girls at the side, he couldn't really find anyone who particularly stood out among them. The only oddball seemed to be himself and a certain black-haired girl who looked to be on the verge of tears.

'Geez, she doesn't look to be doing too well. Why the hell even come here if you can't handle it though?'

"You will be receiving your designation, schedule, and your own personal pocket watch to keep track of time as well, all sent through the mail later tonight, so don't fall asleep too early." Vailecks continued, clearly ignoring the girl's uncomfortable shifting.

Finishing his explanation, the instructor then looked to Damian, gesturing lightly.

"And you, since you're an Imprinted, you'll be joining Instructor Kley in a private class exclusive to Imprinted, so look out for that."

All the other students then turned to Damian, all showing a hint of envy and curiosity.

"With that in mind, be sure to mentally prepare yourself, the first week is usually the hardest to get through. That's all for tonight, see you all tomorrow."

***

Damian sat on his bed, reading the contents of a letter that had arrived shortly after he'd walked back from the meeting with Instructor Vailecks. Skipping past the pointless pleasantries at the beginning of the letter, Damian keenly looked into his schedule and assigned group. Apparently, in the morning there was a full training session involving all recruits, but at noon, everyone eventually broke off into one of three groups. Each group was essentially led by a single instructor, and each group cycled through each instructor every week. Damian had been assigned to Group B which started out with Instructor Vailecks.

Of course, short breaks and meal times are also written on the schedule. As for Damian's private class, it had been scheduled at the very end of the day around dawn which unfortunately had him ending his day later than everyone else. What Damian found the most intriguing, however, was the small map they provided of the outpost. Specifically, the fact that there was actually a library situated nearby within the outpost walls.

Although he'll likely be too busy for now, Damian did make sure to keep that location in mind in the weeks to come

Lastly, there was his miniature pocket watch, secured within a bronze metal locket. For as simple of an item as it was, Damian knew the value of something as mundane as time. It may even grow to become a valuable asset in the future.

With so many things to consider, he could only close his eyes and sleep away his troubles.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

***

"What do you think we'll be doing today?" Aricin lightly spoke.

"Doesn't really matter what we're doing. I'm probably gonna suffer either way." Damian replied, tired.

Early in the morning, the two met up at the dining hall with the other recruits, casually making some small talk as they had breakfast. Soon, everyone began to leave the hall one by one with Damian and Aricin to follow. The two of them soon followed and stood on that same dirt field from earlier along with everyone else.

Damian pulled out his watch as they waited. It read 6:55 a.m., an exhausting time for anyone to adjust to.

When the clock hit 7:00 a.m., the instructors came out, and they began their training. What Damian hadn't known, however, was that today would be amongst the worst days he would ever experience.

In the beginning, they ran multiple laps with the newbies unsurprisingly lagging behind the others. Among them, Damian suffered especially out of the few in the back.

Various exercises continued throughout the morning, mercilessly forcing everyone to work no matter their struggles. One or two new recruits even threw up during their tasks. While Damian had felt severe nausea at times, luckily for him, his stomach hadn't given up just yet. Their strict labor continued for an eternity before eventually they were rewarded with lunch.

***

"Are you ok?" Aricin sat across from Damian, amused.

"...I feel…just great," Damian replied, slumped over and mindlessly picking at his food.

"...So what group did you get assigned to?" Aricin sighed lightly.

"Group B."

"Hmm…a little unfortunate we aren't in the same group. I got group A. Also, we should probably finish up soon since group training is gonna start."

Damian nodded at Aricin with a deadpan expression, getting up to leave.

The two left the cafeteria, separating along the way to their destination. Making his way to his group, he noticed a few familiar faces. There were two other newbies within his group, one being the scared black-haired girl from earlier and the other being a guy who sat at the front during the train ride. Out of everyone present, the people who seemed to take up all the attention of the group clearly appeared to be himself because of his tattoos and an unrecognizable student making light conversation with those who surrounded him. Although the guy wasn't Imprinted, his appearance and atmosphere definitely made heads turn.

Damian couldn't recognize the guy meaning he definitely wasn't newly admitted. He did have an impressive stature and attractive face, so Damian could understand the reasons why so many people surrounded him. None of that really mattered to him though.

Eventually, their assigned instructor made an appearance and almost immediately a few stifled groans and tired faces met the approaching figure.

'Wow, seems like Instructor Vailecks really doesn't have the greatest reputation around here.'

"Quit complaining you ungrateful shits," Vailecks announced with a slightly irritated face.

'That's some…colorful language.'

"Today, you guys will be facing each other in hand-to-hand combat as per usual, take a moment to get ready. I know some of you are new, but I'd still like to gauge where your experience is before starting our lessons in combat."

The instructor then gestured to Damian.

"With that being said, Imprinted, since you got an inherently better physique than simple humans, you'll be fighting against Valyn. An experienced student at our outpost."

"Uh…ok." Damian agreed, a little surprised.

'It makes sense, I wouldn't even be surprised if I beat him since I did kill that big guy from the forest.'

"While we're on the topic, why don't we just start with you two anyway? Valyn, Imprinted, line up." Vailecks continued.

The two walked onto a carved-out miniature platform, separated by a few meters. Now closer, Damian got a better look at the guy. He had an impressively athletic figure and black long hair tied into a ponytail. The pulled-back hair mixed well with his sharp features and slightly tanned body.

To all others, it didn't look like a fair fight in the slightest. Valyn was clearly a head taller than Damian and of a different weight class as well. But no one questioned the appearance. All because that scrawny boy in front of them had become an Imprinted, marked in mysterious black runes that give everything inhuman capabilities.

"My name is Valyn." The student spoke with a straight face.

"...Damian."

"Best of luck to you." Valyn continued.

Damian nodded at his encouragement.

'Why do you think I need luck when I have magic?'